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Comment by LargeCompanies | Hacker News Reader

Can you live off of 2k in San Fran?

Oakland, and: probably not very well. but you can still work, you can stop spending every day stressed about how your entry level retail job isn't giving you enough hours, or you can afford to set two or three days of the week as "unavailable and take some classes. You can stop worrying that taking the day off to interview for a job will be the difference between making rent that month.

Although for reference 2k a month before taxes is the equivalent of a $12/hr 40hr/wk job. I don't live in Oakland but here in Albuquerque thats considered a pretty good job.

yeah or you could be smart and take that money and the time it gives you to either learn a skill that will make live a ton more comfortable and or start a business that makes you and employees money.

I am very happy living here in Maryland as cost of living is inexpensive and govt. IT jobs are plentiful and the pay is good.

That would be the take some classes option, yes, and in many places even 1k a month before taxes would be enough to say "fuck work" entirely and focus on learning. I suspect 2k in Oakland is only enough to say "fuck full-time work".

Unfortunately the study, even at 5 years, doesn't seem long enough, in my mind, to gauge if people under it would "just move to Albuquerque where the cost of living is cheap" (or perhaps UBI could/should be adjusted based on location dunno...)

The other related concern being "if they know it expires in 5 years, they're unlikely to actually really quit their day job"

But still something of a worthy experiment, since it's at least slightly different than the yearly tax refunds.

One can, but its not a glamorous existence.

$2k before tax is about 1500 after. $1200 to share a bedroom with someone. $100-200 to eat, $53 muni pass. The rest to cover a litany of other things like cell phone, medical costs, "entertainment", etc.

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